A. Field of the Invention
Many people who are partially incapacitated by reason of age, senility, arthritis, or other ailments which restrict either their movement of their limbs or appendages, have difficulty in dressing themselves. To these persons, relatively simple tasks such as donning an underwear top which must be slipped on over the head and shoulders of the wearer, is either painful or incapable of achievement.
These persons frequently live alone with no one to aid them in daily morning dressing or rearrangement of their clothing after a trip to the bathroom or shower. Many of these people, in fact, wear no undergarments because they are in fact unable to put these on and take them off without assistance.
B. Prior Art Found in the Field of Invention
A United States Patent issued to Raymond Keltner in 1970, bearing U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,072 on a medical gown for patients which can be easily placed on the patient by hospital attendants. With the use of this Keltner gown, the patient who may be unconcious is placed in a supine position with the gown underneath him or her. The patient's arms are placed through the arm apertures and the straps going over the shoulder are fastened by VELCRO.RTM. fasteners or other means. Then the garment is fastened above the front dorsal midline to bring together the two lateral panels.
When the garment is to be removed, the reverse actions are applied except that the patient need not be in a supine position.
This garment works fine where either the patient is able to reach and unfasten the snap fasteners located on top of each shoulder or has a hospital attendant available to do so. But the elderly arthritic person living alone is just as trapped in this garment as he would be in ordinary underwear.
It is an object of the present invention to describe a garment which can be put on easily by a single person who cannot elevate his arms above a horzontal plane or even less than this level. The same can be said for a person who has severe limitations on the mobility of his legs, yet wishes to himself put on and take off his own underpants to go to the bathroom without assistance of others.